Article from ElectroJams
(Electrojams) As EDM has continued to explode through the consciousness of the American mainstream, there have been few who have matched the same reach and blockbuster appeal as French producer/DJ David Guetta. After releasing his third studio album Pop Life in June, nearly 5 years ago, the French producer has taken a much more pop-centric approach to his work, doing his best to appeal to the mainstream audiences around the globe. With that said, the EDM landscape has changed dramatically, and to be frank, not everyone is happy.
Guetta’s style has always been a blend of strong vocals over electro and French house influences, a style that has brought many hardcore EDM fans and ravers to his shows for years. Now though, Guetta has dropped his once signature style and recurring vocalists for a much glossier and anthemic style that mashes with hip-hop’s latest flavor of the week (I’m looking at you, Nicki Minaj).
Guetta has ordained the unholy marriage of hip-hop and EDM.
We all saw it coming, and we knew this day would come. It was inevitable. Not everyone is happy though. Fans around the world will bash Guetta as if it is their job. By the bar at Laidback Luke’s Super You & Me, it was easy to hear your neighborhood lax-pinnie-wearing bro say things like “Guetta is shit”, or how the Frenchman had “ruined EDM”. Although this is one person’s opinion (and actually supported by hundreds of thousands; some for more defined reasons than others), it proves to show just how polarizing a figure like Guetta really is.
Is that really how people feel?
I could surely understand the gripes of vocalist Chris Willis (featured to the right, looking a little lonely?), the once-longtime collaborator of Guetta who has since been replaced by the likes of Chris Brown and Lil’ Wayne. 
But for many fans, they refuse to see Guetta as anything but a sell-out. I can understand and even sympathize with this sentiment, but when you look at what he has done for EDM as a whole, it’s really hard to accept that he’s all bad or even bad at all.
Every genre of music, every form of art, has two sides to it. On the first side, you have the purely artistic, truly creative expressions, and on the other, you have the mainstream, commercialized and monetized side. Guetta obviously is on the latter half, but that side would not exist without the other. Without David Guetta’s 2009 collaborations with Akon and the Black Eyed Peas, many current hardcore fans would have never even listened to or bothered to know what EDM stands for. At the same time though, it is the overly-commercialized works of Guetta that make the hardcore raver really appreciate those underground nights, those warehouse raves (and I assure you, they still exist!), where the true artistic expression of a real DJ (like you know, actually beatmatches and mixes records?!) and the PLUR life reign supreme.
Additionally, and this is undeniable, EDM would not be where it is without David Guetta. Through his huge collaborations with pop/dance/comedy (right?!) act LMFAO and rapper Kid Cudi and the like, he has gradually injected his electro basslines and thumping beats into Top 40 radio across the nation. His sound has led the way for an EDM takeover. You can find EDM at all the major club spots in major cities, nearly every night of the week. Because of Guetta, producers who make “computer music” or tracks that go “unts unts unts,” are now able to get club residencies and paid gigs easier than ever. Bigger names are now even embarking on tours, some around the world. Coachella and Lollapolooza, once predominantly indie and rock festivals respectively have had their fair share of EDM acts grace their tents, bringing in the likes of Avicii (below with his massive and ridiculous stage setup) and Bassnectar.
Taking it one step further, the EDM music scene has become a billion-dollar industry. Surely this means that more pop and more accessible MTV tunes will be produced, but this is part of the natural evolution at this point. It also means that millions of people long after our time, will know of this era. Millions of people now, can work to support and produce the music we hold near and dear to our hearts.
The work of Guetta and other polarizing figures such as Skrillex and Deadmau5 have become a divisive force amongst ravers everywhere. Self-segregated factions of the nasty and filthy wobble of “brostep” or the orchestral, lush synth pads of trance fans now attack each other based on their musical interests. This is something that has long been different in the dance music scene. Rather than be split up by your favorite DJ, people united in PLUR fashion. You can save all the banners, commercial ventures and $400 ticket festivals, people came for the music. Today, that is not so easily said.
Attending Steez Promo’s annual Starscape Festival, the vibe is noticeably different than that of a NYC one-off Laidback Luke show. At Starscape, kandi is not just an accessory but a means for meeting new people, trading and creating new experiences. At Pacha, it’s almost frowned upon to be wearing any sort of kandi. To put it simply, it’s rave versus party. To be sure, it is entirely possible to enjoy both, but the two don’t mix well. This is where the true EDM fans, the kandi kids, the old-school house heads who have hated on Guetta often feel slighted. As EDM has grown, they feel that they have been left behind, and have not been able to grow with the music as they have in the past. What once offered an escape from the Top 40 charts, is now littered everywhere. It’s no longer our little secret. People who once derived their identity from being a raver are now being forced to be mixed in with the “others.”
“If you abandon a band as soon as other people like them, then you don’t love music for the right reasons. You like music for identity.” – Jack White
I can understand the fear, the feeling of loss. What once felt uniquely yours no longer does. If you truly love the music, and are really about the music, then you can appreciate what Guetta has done for our scene. Music is meant to connect people, not divide. Rather than rag on others for their taste in music, we can now dance together at our local clubs, regional massive and national festivals.
And for those people who once loved Guetta beats but now denounce him, I have to question just how much of a music lover you are. Do you love the music or the identity you get from listening to it? (We don’t want you. Thanks.)
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